SEPANG: There were military shooters on the roof, and the opposing side was taking potshots at the PETRONAS Sudan Complex which also houses the Malaysian embassy.

The complex in Khartoum – with 30 Malaysians trapped inside – was caught between the two rival sides in the heavy fighting of the Sudan conflict with the bullets raining at the building.

The fighters even launched heavy ordnance towards the complex. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the building even as they were trying to evacuate.

Luckily, it didn’t explode. But for those caught in the crossfire, it was harrowing.

Water and electricity had been cut off for days, handphone batteries were dying and communication was being cut off.

They had to get out of there.

Malaysia’s ambassador to Sudan, Mohamad Razdan Jamil, who was among 30 citizens who returned to the country yesterday, recalled the perilous moments that led to their evacuation from the conflict-hit city.

With the embassy and the complex in the centre of raging gunfire, the ambassador had to make the decision to move out quickly.

The country has seen violent fighting between the Sudanese military led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by rival General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

More than 400 people have been killed and more than 3,500 injured since the conflict broke out on April 15.

“PETRONAS was smack in the middle so all the bullets would have hit there. On the 17th, we made an assessment and by then there were SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) on the rooftops and they were shooting towards the Rapid Support Forces soldiers.

“On the day we left, they fired a a rocket-propelled grenade at the building but it didn’t explode,” said Mohamad Razdan.

There had been 32 Malaysians in Sudan in seven different places and they were all told to take refuge at the complex before they could be evacuated.

While 30 made it to the complex, two others who are serving with the United Nations are still in the country.

With water and electricity cut off and batteries dying, the window to move out was extremely narrow.

“There was no way to predict the ‘perfect’ time. It was always about the circumstances,” said Mohamad Razdan.

One thing he can never forget was the teamwork showed by all to get everybody through those difficult moments.

“Without my team, I wouldn’t be here. It’s a family,” he said as he was overcome with emotions.

Jasson Lim Jan Yoong, who was on an attachment there from Unicef, said he had to think positively throughout the ordeal.

“There’s no point in thinking negatively because if people break down it would make things harder. We were quite fortunate that the group was positive and we had enough food,” he said.

He managed a wry smile when he remembered the long, harrowing trip home from the conflict-torn nation.

“First it was the bus ride, which we estimated to be 12 to 18 hours. It took us 33 hours.

“There were strict checks at checkpoints, and curfews on buses at midnight that we did not know about. We reached Port Sudan around Monday afternoon,” he said.

First secretary Amirul Husni Sahar, 38, said he and his family only felt safe after reaching Port Sudan.

“There were no gunshots in Port Sudan and many other countries were using the area as a rendezvous area,” he said.

He said the group also celebrated Hari Raya when they could to keep morale up while sheltering at the official embassy residences (also known as Rumah Malaysia).

“We had a celebration on the morning of Raya and it was a simple one. But we still had to avoid windows when we heard gunshots,” his wife Siti Nur Aminah Khadijah Shamsuddin, 37, added.

They left the embassy the next day.